A shared design facilitation approach to co- designing games for learning Matthew Bates, Nottingham Trent University, UK

Motivation Why use a design-based approach to games-based learning? Gaming is becoming the new ‘third place’ Has the potential to inspire community learning Play requires exploration, conversation and collaboration Which encourages creation of peripheral game resources A shared design facilitation approach to co-designing games for learning Media-rich blogs Wiki knowledgeVideo tutorials

Hart’s Ladder A shared design facilitation approach to co-designing games for learning

Level 8 of ladder: ‘Children initiated and directed’ participation Goal: promote school library facilities to fellow students Via weekly after school club with self selecting participants Facilitation: passive; simply initiate and observe tasks Result: 50% games completed which lack learning content Previous Work: Library Service A shared design facilitation approach to co-designing games for learning

Level 4 of ladder: ‘Assigned but informed’ participation Goal: inform primary pupils about secondary school life Via weekly Art & Design school classes with sample class Facilitation: active; discuss and assist with designs Result: 83% designs completed and approved by collaborators The Optimal Level of Children’s Participation – Matthew Bates Previous Work: Secondary School

Level 6 of ladder: ‘Adult initiated, shared decisions’ participation Goal: collaborate on single design with clear learning objectives Experimentation of ideas using basic tools (pack of cards) Implementation handled by facilitators to optimise time Result: game now used in school visits by library service Previous Work: Library Service 2 A shared design facilitation approach to co-designing games for learning

Scalability of approach using participation at level 6 of ladder Goal: can approach benefit adults at risk of social exclusion? Weekly design workshops using university facilities Working as design team of offenders, tutors and researchers Result: participants invited to present work at national level Both process and product accredited by service for future use Previous Work: Probation Service A shared design facilitation approach to co-designing games for learning

A Comparison of Approaches Workshop Design A shared design facilitation approach to co-designing games for learning

A Comparison of Approaches Implementation Digital version of idea Modification Serious version of idea Discussion / Testing of ideas Integration and presentation of ideas as mini-game hub Iterative Participation A shared design facilitation approach to co-designing games for learning

Objectives for Participatory Design A shared design facilitation approach to co-designing games for learning

Elevating learners to design partners: creates powerful learning environments but requires facilitation regardless of age and experience must balance of learner input with educator experience balanced approach applicable and scalable to a range of students Conclusions A shared design facilitation approach to co-designing games for learning

Bates, M., Brown, D., Cranton, W., and Lewis, J. (2008). Playing to win: motivation for teaching and learning in today’s gaming culture. Paper presented at Interactive Technologies and Games (ITAG), November 2008, Nottingham, UK. Bates, M., Brown, D., Cranton, W., and Lewis, J. (2009). A design for learning: exploring serious games design with children. Paper presented at Interactive Technologies and Games (ITAG), October 2009, Nottingham, UK. Bates, M., Brown, D., Cranton, W., and Lewis, J. (2010). Formulating a serious games design project for adult offenders with the probation service. Paper presented at Interactive Technologies and Games (ITAG), October 2010, Nottingham, UK. Druin, A. (2002). The role of children in the design of new technology. Behaviour and Information Technology, 21(1), pp.1–25. Steinkuehler, C. (2004). Learning in massively multi-player online games. Proceedings of the 6th international conference on learning sciences (ICLS), June 2004, Santa Monica, CA, USA, pp References A shared design facilitation approach to co-designing games for learning